Container for knitting machine needles



July 1, 1969 HQFMA-NN I 3,452,859-

CONTAINER FOR KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLES Filed June 26, 1967 Fig.5 m 41 1o 12 Fig.7 12 Fnqb INVENTOR ULRICH HOFMANN ATTORNEY United States Patent ()1 Fee 3,452,859 Patented July 1, 1969 rm. (:1. B65d 85/54, 195/24; A45c 11/26 Us. or. 206--17 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A storage and shipping container for knitting machine needles which comprises a package divided lengthwise into compartments wide enough to hold several packs of needles, and provided with a metal foil strip to maintain the needles in position.

Background and objects The manufacturer of needles, especially of fine knitting machine needles, is obliged to pack them neatly, for shipping, in containers from which they can be conveniently withdrawn. Since the needles are usually very thin, it is difiicult to grasp them with the fingers from a box or bag in which they lie in disorder, to be then inserted at a certain place into the machine. Indeed, it has already been proposed to keep such fine needles with their feet and/ or heads easy to grasp in flexible material. However, such maintenance requires relatively complicated and costly storage or shipping containers.

The object of the invention is to provide a needle container which is easy and inexpensive to produce, in which the needles are neatly arranged, and from which they may be withdrawn singly or severally with a touch and without the remaining needles being thrown into disorder. The container should furthermore, be especially suited for shipping. This object is achieved, according to the present invention, by a new, relatively fiat and rectangular container whose interior serves to hold the needles and hence is adapted to fit the needles, that is, divided lengthwise by raised partition walls from the bottom to the top surface about as high as its lengthwise sidewalls. Between these partitions are formed compartments in which are placed the packaged needles. At one end of the top surface of the container is a cutout from which the needle feet emerge at right angles.

The bottom surface opposite the top surface consists of a thin metal foil-strip that can be slid into grooves of the two lengthwise sidewalls. This foil, at both ends, is bent around the end edges of the container at right angles, thereby preventing single needles and needle sets from slipping out from the end of the container. To withdraw needles, the foil-strip holding the needle feet may be bent downward and pushed slightly backwards so that the desired needles sliding over it may be withdrawn. This backward bending is made possible in that the foil at this end portion at the bottom of the groove is narrowed and does not lie in the grooved sidewalls.

To close the top surface cutout for withdrawal of the needle feet, there is provided a cross-ledge. This crossledge makes it possible, by placing two containers lying opposite each other in opposite directions, to make a packet unit with parallel side surfaces. Multiple units may be easily and neatly thus packed together in cartons or boxes.

These and other features, advantages and objects will become more apparent upon referring to the detailed description of the drawings.

The drawings facilitate the construction of a sample form of execution of the new needle container. The drawings are about 1 /2 times the actual sizes. Since the single needles are only about 0.3 mm. thick, their thickness is represented by simple line.

FIGURE 1 is a view of a machine needle with vertically standing foot, for which the container corresponding to the other figures is designed.

FIGURE 2 shows the cross-section corresponding to line IIII in FIGURE 4 through the flat needle container with needles lying within.

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the container with needle packets in the individual compartments and with downward-bent end of the foil whose thickness is represented by simple line.

FIGURE 4 is the top view of the container, but without needles or cover-foil.

FIGURE 5 shows the cross-section.

FIGURE 6 shows the top view of the cover-foil serving as bottom surface.

FIGURE 7 shows two containers lying opposite each other filled with needles, as they may be laid and shipped in boxes of multiple units.

The needle 1 in FIGURE 1 has throughout its entire length a constant thickness of about 0.3 mm. Its foot 6 is pointed vertically upwards. Its head is provided with a little hook 1a whose opening can be closed in familiar manner by a swinging prong 1b hinged to the needle stem. This prong lies nearly lengthwise to the needle in closed as well as in open position.

The container holding needles in FIGURE 2 corresponds to the longitudinal section according to line IIII of FIGURE 4 but which, with the foil left out, is shown without needles. In FIGURE 3, the container full of needleb is shown from the right side. The foil-end 11a is bent under so that the entire height of the needle feet is visible. From the top surface 3 the two sidewalls 9 rise vertically and in the interior 2 the downwards lengthwise partition walls 4 that form compartments between themselves serve to place needles in packets of 10 needles in each. In FIGURE 3 the needle packets are visible. In FIGURE 2, one may note at 7 that the top surface 3 ends at the point where the needle feet 6 emerge.

In order that the needles be held in the compartments, the bottom of the containers is closed by a foil 10 that may be withdrawn in the lengthwise direction. This foil is relatively thin and elastic and runs in grooves 8 of both sidewalls 9 of the container. Their ends 11 and 11a are bent at right angles so that the left end 11 (as shown) lies before the closing wall of the top surface, and the right end grips (FIGURE 2) somewhat around the feet 6 bent at right angles, which are thus kept back in the container and cannot slide out.

In FIGURE 5 also are shown the vertically bent ends 11 and 11a of the foil. The deflection (bending away) of the right part of the foil is made possible in that, as FIGURE 6 shows, it is narrowed by the cutouts 12, but only to the extent that the surface between the two lengthwise sidewalls 9 remains covered by the foil and that only at that point the foil does not adhere to the grooves 8.

Because of the resilient bending back of the end 11a bent at right angles (downwards in FIGURE 2), single needles or entire packets may be withdrawn to the right. The compartment width 5 is appropriately so devised that, when only single or a few needles are withdrawn from a compartment, the other feet still remaining vertical stay in place, and do not tip over.

The described measurements, especially of the crossbar 13, permit (as may be seen in FIGURE 7) the formation of a container-pair that has parallel surfaces on both sides and, with similar pairs laid together, permits convenient packaging of a greater number' of such containers.

Since the compartments '5 for placing the needles have sufficient room, the neW packaging, according to the invention, otters the possibility of packing the needles optionally with open or with closed prong 1b. Foil that forms the compartment bottom can 'be simply cut out from a suitable roll as surface material. The good grip on individual needles or packets otters the needle-installer the possibility of having constantly and conveniently available to him several of these containers in a users kit for various needles of various foot-heights.

While the invention has been described, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the invention following in general the principles of the invention, and including such departure from the present disclosure as come within the knowledge or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth and as fall within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A packaging and dispensing container for knitting machine needles, comprising:

(a) a packet substantially the length of said needles,

with atop and two side portions,

(b) said two side portions having grooves extending the length of said side portions,

(c) a thin, flexible strip slid'ably engaging said grooves to form a hollow rectangular container,

(d) said top of said container being shorter than said side portions to allow the feet of said needles to prou'ect from said container,

(e) both ends of said strip being bent angularly in the same direction,

(f) one of said bent ends resting against one end of said container,

(g) the other of said bent ends being reduced in width at least in the region of said feet of said needles, and resting against the other end of said container,

(h) such that said reduced end is flexible away from said container to allow said needles to be withdrawn.

2. A container as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

(a) a series of partitions running the length of said container and forming therebetween a number of slots for holding packets of needles.

3. A container as set forth in claim 2 wherein:

(a) the width of said slots is such as to allow a single needle to remain with its foot at right angles to the top of the container without tipping.

4. A container as set forth in claim 3 further comprising:-

(a) a ledge at the foot end of said container,

(b) said ledge running transversely along the top of said container.

5. A container as set forth in claim 4 wherein:

(a) the height of said ledge is such that, when two containers are placed upon each other in an opposite fashion for packing, the total height of the container-s is greater than the needle foot height.

6. A container as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

(a) a ledge at the foot end of said container,

(b) said ledge running transversely along the top of said container.

7. A container as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

(a) the height of said ledge is such that, when two containers are placed upon each other in an opposite fashion for packing, the total height of the containers is greater than the needle foot height.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,951,857 3/1934 Boa et al. 206-67 X 2,944,662 7/1960 Colton 206l6 3,004,660 10/1961 Hofmann 206-66 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 20666 

